The family of Baltimore cyclist John R. "Jack" Yates who was hit by a truck and killed last year has settled its lawsuit against the driver and his employer. The settlement with Potts & Callahan Inc. was reached days before trial.
The case prompted concern and outrage from Baltimore bicycling community (picture of memorial by The Sun's Amy Davis). The Yates family alleged negligence because it appeared the driver of the truck made a right turn onto Lafayette Avenue and Yates got caught in the rear wheels. Police didn't file charges, saying the driver, who did not stop, did not see the cyclist.
I wrote about Yates back in August for a different reason. He had worked as a counselor for the Baraka School in Kenya, an alternative school for at-risk city teens. He had known another young man, Charles G. "Boots" Pratt, who was shot and killed in a South Baltimore housing project.
Pratt had been involved with drugs and was a gang member, police said. The two died just five days apart in August 2009, under very different circumstances, but their bond demonstrated some of the uncommon links found in this city.